The US gives Ukraine permission to use US-supplied weapons to strike targets in Russia, but only near Kharkiv.

A popular resort town on Spain’s Costa Brava has banned inflatable penis costumes and sex dolls from stag and hen night celebrations, with fines of up to €1,500 (£1,276).

Platja d’Aro, whose population of 12,500 can host as many as 300,000 visitors on a summer weekend, is a favourite destination for bachelor and bachelorette nights. Numerous websites offer packages that include accommodation, cruises and male or female strippers.

The new bylaw specifically bans people from appearing “on the public thoroughfare without clothing or only in their underwear or with clothing or accessories representing human genitals or with dolls or other accessories of a sexual nature”.

Offenders face fines of from €300-€1,500 (£155-£1,275).

Government of Christopher Luxon has made sweeping cuts to climate projects in its first budget, with no new significant environmental investments

As voters across India cast their ballots in the general election on issues ranging from the cost of living to jobs and religion, the residents of a tiny, ecologically sensitive island have only one concern: Survival. As voters across India cast their ballots in the general election on issues ranging from the cost of living to jobs and religion, the residents of a tiny, ecologically sensitive island have only one concern: Survival.

The residents of Ghoramara in the Sundarbans delta on the Bay of Bengal are fighting to save their homes from disappearing into the sea in the face of rising sea levels and increasingly fierce storms, putting climate change front and centre for politicians trying to win their vote.

Home to more than 4.5 million people, the Sundarbans is the largest mangrove forest in the world and regarded as a climate change hotspot as the planet gets warmer. The region is shared by India and Bangladesh.

“For us, the protection of the island is the main issue in this election,” said Bimal Patra, 60, one of just over 3,700 registered voters in Ghoramara, an island in the delta.

India is holding a massive general election over seven weeks. The people of Ghoramara go to the polls on Saturday, the final day of voting, as part of the Mathurapur constituency.

The plight of the island’s inhabitants highlights the broader concerns about the impact of climate change on the environment and the urgency for solutions.

The African National Congress appeared on course to lose the parliamentary majority it has held for 30 years, partial results from South Africa's national election showed, in what would be the most dramatic political shift since the end of apartheid.

If the final results confirm the loss of its majority, the ANC will be forced to make a deal with one or more other parties to govern - a situation that could lead to unprecedented political volatility in the coming weeks or months.

"There will be checks and balances on the ANC power, but the ultimate risk is that the infighting could make governance ineffective," said Simon Harvey, head of foreign exchange analysis at Monex Europe.

With results in from 16.7% of polling stations, the ANC's share of the vote in Wednesday's election stood at 42.5%, with the pro-business Democratic Alliance (DA) on 25.8%, data from the electoral commission showed on Thursday.

The Marxist Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) party was on 8.5%, while uMkhonto we Sizwe (MK), a new party led by former president Jacob Zuma, was snapping at its heels on 8%.

"I don't think it's likely for the ANC to reach a majority," said pollster Reza Omar of Citizen Surveys, noting that while the picture would evolve, it was unlikely to change to that extent.

South African broadcaster eNCA projected that the ANC's final score would land on the 45% mark while the DA would remain the largest opposition party on 21%.

"The ANC looks forward to a clear mandate from voters to continue the work of transforming South Africa and building a better life for all," the party said in a statement.

Tessa Dooms, director of the Rivonia Circle think-tank in Johannesburg, said the early results were skewed towards rural areas where she would have expected the ANC to be performing more strongly than it was.

"The rural vote comes in early and it's always much smaller. The urban vote comes in quite late. I think this election will be a lot more contested in the urban areas," she told Reuters at the results centre in Midrand, north of Johannesburg.

Under South Africa's constitution, the newly elected National Assembly will elect the next president. With the ANC still on course to be the largest party, that is likely to be its leader Cyril Ramaphosa, the incumbent.

However, a poor showing could make him vulnerable to a leadership challenge from within party ranks, whether in the immediate future or at some point during his term.

With South Africa entering uncharted political territory, Harvey said the speed at which a coalition could be formed would be an indication of what was to come.

The early results declared in South Africa’s election suggest the ruling African National Congress (ANC) party could lose its majority for the first time in 30 years. With results in from 13% of polling stations at 10 a.m. local time, support for the ANC stood at 42.5%.

The official opposition party, the Democratic Alliance (DA), had 26% of the vote, while the far-left Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) – a splinter party of the ANC – had 8.4%, data from the country’s electoral commission showed.

The respected research group CSIR modeled the ANC winning less than 45% of the national poll as of mid-morning on Thursday.

Officials of the Independent Electoral Commission have stressed that the official tally could take several days and some larger voting wards could take more time to be tallied.

In past elections, results from rural areas – where the ANC has major strongholds – have come in later, boosting results for the party.

Caretaker medical health minister Pia Dijkstra is planning to experiment with compensating women who have undergone female genital mutilation for the cost of operations if they suffer sexual or psychological complications.

Operations to help women with physical problems after undergoing FGM are currently covered by health insurance, but they are not paid if the woman is only suffering sexual or psychological complaints.

Dijkstra said in answer to MPs questions that money should not be an obstacle to women undergoing a reconstruction procedure, and wants to introduce a trial for one year...

In the East African nation, femicide is often documented as normal death, making it difficult to separate these cases from general murder statistics.

WHO says a ‘full incursion’ into the Gaza city will only leave ill-equipped field hospitals and additional mortality. A World Health Organization official said the last working hospital in Rafah could stop functioning and a substantial number of deaths could be expected if Israel launches a “full incursion” into the southern Gaza City.

“If the incursion would continue, we would lose the last hospital in Rafah,” Richard Peeperkorn, the WHO representative for Gaza and the occupied West Bank, said on the sidelines of the World Health Assembly in Geneva on Tuesday.

On May 25, 2024, African leaders and other stakeholders met in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, for the 20th anniversary of the African Union Peace and Security Council, chaired by President Samia Suluhu Hassan for May 2024. Among the issues that were widely discussed in the ceremony included the ongoing conflicts, resurgence of unconstitutional change of government, and terrorism.

During the opening ceremony, President Samia highlighted the evolving nature of conflicts in Africa and the resurgence of unconstitutional changes of government and terrorism as persistent challenges.

President Samia urged leaders to reflect on addressing the root causes of issues. She emphasized the importance of improving prevention capabilities, effectively using available instruments and strengthening relationships to resolve challenges.

The sentiment was echoed by a panel of African elders, including former Tanzanian President Jakaya Kikwete, former Nigerian President Oluṣẹgun Ọbasanjọ, and Domitien Ndayizeye the former president of Burundi.

Ukraine on Monday walked back an announcement that French military instructors would soon arrive in the country, saying that it was still in talks with Paris and other allies on the issue. Kyiv’s defence ministry made the “clarification” after army chief Oleksandr Syrsky said that the first French military instructors would soon arrive in the war-battered country.

“As of now, we are still in discussions with France and other countries on this,” Ukraine’s defence ministry said in a statement.

It added that it had “begun internal work on the relevant documents on this issue in order not to waste time on coordinating bureaucratic issues when the relevant decision is made.”

Asylum seekers from Sudan, Eritrea and Afghanistan detained in government’s Operation Vector share their stories. When Helen arrived at Yarl’s Wood immigration removal centre, she was taken to her cell and handed some cleaning spray and wipes and told to use them before making up her bed. She had no idea why she had been arrested when she went to report.

“They told me I had been detained for Rwanda and tried to convince us to go voluntarily saying it is now the law and we have already been selected. But they didn’t explain to me why I had been chosen.”

“There were about seven of us women detained and we all tried our best not to think about being put on a plane and tried to support each other.”

She said that materials promoting the east African country were visible around the centre and made everyone feel more terrified.

“The walls in this place are tall and horrible and scary. I had never been detained before and knowing that the Home Office can take me to the airport and put me on a plane at any time was terrifying. All I could think about was how I could get out of this place.”